- BRIGITTE SIRE
- Sleater-Kinney (L-R): Janet Weiss, Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein… ’cause they understood.
You think it’s over now/But we’ve only just begun.”
So goes the priceless, invigorating taunt that Elvis Costello and the Attractions used to commence 1986’s we’re-back-and-ready-to-wreck-shop classic Blood & Chocolate.
That same spirit of exhilarating defiance infuses every last note of Sleater-Kinney’s tough-minded, soul-bearing return from exile, No Cities to Love. A brilliantly forceful, funny, and catchy set of songs, the record seamlessly picks up the thread from 10-year-old would-be career closer The Woods and promptly reimagines all that this great band can be. It’s worth noting that during the long and demoralizing history of rock-and-roll reunions, a fully unqualified success of this magnitude is practically unheard of.
“They broke up 10 years ago and then got back together! And this may be their best record!” Those particular words have been spoken approximately never. Until now…
